[09] Turkish Cypriot daily reports that the UN Secretary-General will
visit Cyprus in February

[01] Talat said he dreams of a Cyprus which is fully independent and on
which Turkey will not be present

Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (07.12.09) reports that the
Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat has said that he dreams of a
Cyprus which is fully independent and on which Turkey will not be
present. Asked by Hatice Kilic, correspondent of the Turkish Yeni Safak
newspaper on how is Cyprus in his dreams, Mr Talat said: Cyprus in our
dreams is fully independent. An independent Cyprus where Turkey is also
not present.

Mr Talat noted that the members of Ergenekon organization use the
Cyprus problem and argued that those who have created the Cyprus
problem cannot solve it. He noted that one of those who have created
the problem is the former Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktas.

Asked whether they agreed with President Christofias on a United Cyprus
and what kind of state this will be, Mr Talat responded that they
agreed and that the united Cyprus will be a federal state with two
constituent states, one Greek and one Turkish. Therefore our
possessions of today will not cease to exist, he noted adding that a
new structure will exist.

Asked who will be the president of this state, Mr Talat said that the
leaders have not yet agreed on this and that they have only agreed on
the rotating presidency. He reminded that the Greek Cypriot side
suggested that the president should be elected directly by the people
and the Greek Cypriot community should have the same influence in the
election of the Turkish Cypriot president with the influence which the
Turkish Cypriot community will have in the election of the Greek
Cypriot president. For now we have not accepted it as principle, he
added.

When he was asked to comment on the statement made after their 53rd
meeting by President Christofias who has reportedly said that they
agreed with Mr Talat that the solution will be a federation with single
citizenship, single international identity and without armies and that
the Turkish army will never exist on the island, Mr Talat replied that
this is an allegation and he does not think that Mr Christofias said
such a thing. The demilitarization of the island means that no troops
will remain except those that have been agreed in the Treaties of
Guarantees and Alliance and those that we will agree, noted Mr Talat
adding the following:

However, as I understood, that day Christofias referred to the
demilitarization of the island from the local troops, that is, the
security forces and the Greek Cypriot National Guard will mutually be
dissolved. That is, the United Cyprus will have no army. This is what
he meant. And as I said, no troops will remain on the island except
those provided for in the treaties of guarantee and alliance.

Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Volkan newspaper (07.12.09) publishes on its
front page the interview of Mr Talat to Yeni Safak and commenting on it
says that Talat lost his mind; he does not know what he is saying.

(I/Ts.)

[02] Talat replied to the questions of Turkish Cypriots living in
London and said they are pursuing the exaltation of the TRNC. Plan B
in case talks fail

Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris newspaper (07.12.09) reports that the
Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat has met for three hours with
and replied to the questions of more than 400 Turkish Cypriots living
in London during his visit to the British capital upon an invitation by
Britains Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce.

Asked whether they will make the TRNC live, Mr Talat said that they are
pursuing the exaltation of the TRNC not its recognition. He explained
that by exaltation he means bringing it together with the world. He
said: I find such a question to be very strange. The TRNC is the
highest administrative organ created by the Turkish Cypriots. Is it ill
and we say that we will make it live? It is wrong for us to see it as
an entity of which we will be afraid and make it live. We are pursuing
the exaltation of the TRNC, not its recognition... Those who hear this
question will think that the TRNC is dying. Those who allege that the
TRNC should be defended must not talk like that.

Tension was created in the room when somebody from the audience
referred to the meeting of Mr Talat with Prime Minister Gordon Brown
noting that the Turkish Cypriots are not regarded as equal and that is
why Mr Talat was received at the back door. Another person from the
audience responded to him in a very harsh manner and the first person
was taken out from the room by the security. After this Mr Talat said:
I am not as courageous as the previous administrators. Those before me
were more courageous. That is why our country is recognized and
prosperous. I came here to see you, not Brown. However, if I make you
quarrel, I will not come again.

Replying to a question, Mr Talat said: Do not ask from us a policy
which the world could not accept. That policy, returning to the past
would be wrong. It brought no good for us.

Mr Talat noted: The Cyprus problem came up because of the governance
and power sharing. Not because of other issues. We should solve it in a
sound manner. A full agreement was reached on judiciary. There is no
obstacle. In the legislation there are two obstacles. There is an
agreement in principle.

The most fundamental issue we have not discussed is the transitional
period. We have not yet taken this up. Important progress has been
achieved on the economy. We agreed on issues such as what powers will
each one have in the EU. A good progress was achieved on the issue of
what decisions will the united Cyprus take on the EU affairs. We have
carried out significant work on the issues which constitute the
majority of the Cyprus problem. The territory is both the most
difficult and complex issue. It is not an issue that will take a long
time. There was a little progress on the property. It will take time.
The picture on the Cyprus problem is roughly this.

On the same issue, Ankara Anatolia news agency (07.12.09) reports the
following from London:

Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat said that the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus had a Plan B in case peace talks to reunify
the island with Greek Cypriots fail.

We definitely have a 'Plan B' but I can not disclose it right now,
Talat told a meeting with Turkish Cypriots living in the United Kingdom
on Sunday.

Turkish Cypriot leader Talat and Greek Cypriot leader Demetris
Christofias re-launched peace talks to reunify the island in September
2008. They have had over 50 meetings so far.

Asked if there was an agreement with Greek Cypriot side on major
topics, Talat said, there are some issues we have agreed on and there
are some more we could not agree on. We need a give-and-take process to
reach final agreements.

He said talks would be intensified and expressed hope for progress,
adding that Turkish Cypriot arguments were in line with UN parameters
which did not cause a problem for Turkish Cypriot side in the
international arena.

Recalling that he had a meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown last week, Talat said Britain, a guarantor power in the island,
should play an encouraging and more important role as it was the
country that could make the best diplomatic formulation of the problem.
And I can say that I saw British officials are more interested when
compared to the past, he said.

(I/Ts.)

[03] Details on the meeting the British Prime Minister held with Mehmet
Ali Talat

Illegal Bayrak television (05.12.09) broadcast the following:

The President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Mehmet Ali
Talat is continuing with his contacts in London. Last night he met with
the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and exchanged views regarding
the Cyprus issue.

Addressing journalists after this meeting, President Talat said his
meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown was very useful and noted that
Mr. Brown was very interested in the Cyprus issue.

Explaining that the issue of guarantees was on the agenda President
Talat said: The continuation of the guarantee agreements meets our
security needs and I have told this to Mr. Brown also.

Prime Minister Gorndon Brown for his part issued a written statement
after his meeting with the President to which he expressed his support
to the progress made by President Mehmet Ali Talat during the Cyprus
negotiations process.

President Mehmet Ali Talat of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC) met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown as part of his
visit to London.President Talat told reporters following the meeting
that he informed the British Prime Minister on the ongoing negotiation
process on the island.

He asked me how Britain can assist the parties in this process and what
contributions Britain can make to efforts to find a solution to the
Cyprus issue. He told me that he would continue holding talks with all
actors including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime
Minister George Papandreou. He also pledged to make any contributions
to the negotiation process, he said.

[04] Eroglu said 400 thousand subscribers of mobile phones exist in the
occupied areas of Cyprus; Columnist said the total population should be
more than 500 thousand

Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris newspaper (07.12.09) reports that the
self-styled prime minister and leader of the National Unity Party
(UBP), Dervis Eroglu has briefed journalists from Turkey on the Cyprus
problem and the policy of his government during the past six months. He
said, inter alia, the following: I got old watching these negotiations.
My hair became white. It is said that we have reached close to the
solution, but as a person who reads all the minutes, I could say that
there is no agreement on any other issue than the judiciary. He said
that if he wins the elections in April and there is no solution, the
two states will continue their relations side by side. He claimed: We
wish for the negotiations to continue with good will. However, from the
moment they stop, the Greeks and the whole world should know that
everybody should go his own way.

Mr Eroglu said that from 2005 until 2008 Turkey granted to the
breakaway regime an aid of $ 4 billion, while the EU only for 2009
secured to the Republic of Cyprus a credit of $ 3 billion.

The paper notes, inter alia the following:

Saying that the increase created in the consumption by the increasing
population was reflected in the imports and the commercial life, that
important developments were experienced in the air transportation, that
the potential of the education and tourism which are the driving force
of the country will grow and that the draft-law regarding a free zone
in the TRNC, which has approximately 400 thousand subscribers of GSM
mobile phones, was submitted to the Assembly in order to be
materialized, Eroglu noted that income tax exemption, credits
encouraging the exports and subsidy of 10% to the taxes on the
employment will be provided to the firms that will be operating within
the scope of the law and in this manner possibilities are offered on
the advantages included in the free zones of the other countries of the
area.

Commenting on the statement of Mr Eroglu that there are 400 subscribers
of mobile phones in the occupied areas of Cyprus, Mehmet Davulcu
writes, inter alia, the following in Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris
newspaper (07.12.09) under the title Cyprus is 1.5 million!:

...Very well, but the reality that 400 thousand mobile phone
subscribers exist is there. The meaning of this is that the population
living in the TRNC is in any case and under any condition more than 400
thousand. When it is considered that some persons from other parts of
the society and mainly children do not use mobile phones, we come face
to face with the reality that the total population of the TRNC is more
than 500 thousand. Who knows, it may have exceeded 600 thousand. When
we approach the issue knowing that the population of the Greek Cypriot
side is more than 800 thousand, we reach to the conclusion that more
than 1.5 million people are living in the entire Cyprus....

Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu has said that the people of the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus have its own state and they are not doomed
to an agreement. He also noted that the government is in favor of a
solution, but the Greek Cypriot Administration should give the sense
that it wants a solution.

The Prime Minister has informed some Turkish journalists on the
negotiations process. Noting that the negotiations have been continuing
since 1968 and it should not continue forever, Mr Eroglu said this
should be the last if failing to reach an agreement.

Mr Eroglu also accused the Greek Cypriot Administration of aiming to
block Turkeys way to the EU and make Turkey to recognize the so called
Cyprus Republic with intrigues.

Saying that negotiations have been continuing for years with the aim of
finding a solution to the Cyprus problem, Mr Eroglu stressed that no
agreement would be reached unilaterally and Greek Cypriots have not
said yes to any agreement.

Mr Eroglu also explained that according to public surveys 80 per cent
of the people of the TRNC are hopeless for negotiations and 70 per cent
of Greek Cypriots are against living together with the Turks of
Cyprus.

(I/Ts.)

[05] The self-styled minister of tourism explains to British
journalists visiting the occupied Cyprus the realities over the Cyprus
problem

Illegal Bayrak television (06.12.09) broadcast the following:

Minister of Tourism, Environment and Culture Hamza Ersan Saner met with
British journalists who are in the republic as guests of the Cyprus
Turkish Building Contractors Union.

Journalists who write for important papers and magazines of Britain
such as Times, Observer, The Guardian, Daily News and Cream of London
were informed on tourism in the TRNC by the Minister.

During the meeting, Mr Saner said that the visits by foreign
delegations will help to properly explain the realities over the Cyprus
issue.

Noting that the Turks of Cyprus have been exposed to embargos and
isolations in every field for many years as a result of the current
situation formed after the 1974 peace operation, Mr Saner said that the
tourism has been directly affected by the embargos.

Reminding that every initiative taken for the improvement of tourism in
the TRNC has been facing difficulties raised by the Greek Cypriot side,
the Minister said that this is one of the most important problems in
the country.

[06] Turkey reportedly will present a new proposal on Cyprus after
Erdogans meeting with President Obama

Illegal Bayrak television (05.12.09) broadcast the following:

Foreign Minister Huseyin Ozgurgun has said that the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus and Turkey were working on a new project that would
help achieve progress during the Cyprus talks.

Mr. Ozgurgun who attended a working lunch with diplomatic journalists
confirmed that the two countries were working on a project, but said
that they still had to decide weather or not it would be put forward as
a package as claimed by the press. The Turkish Foreign Ministry is in a
dilemma on this issue, he added.

A journalist asked Mr. Ozgurgun whether he would be informed about the
package before or after Prime Minister Erdogan presents the package to
US President Barack Obama on the 7th of December, Mr. Ozgurgun replied
probably after.

Ozgurgun said the United States supports any solution that is supported
by the two sides in Cyprus and added that a plan that is prepared by
someone else will not receive an outcome.

Noting that the biggest problem of the government is that it is not
amongst the Cyprus negotiations delegation, Foreign Minster Ozgurgun
said there is difference of opinion amongst the National Unity Party
(UBP) and the Presidency, the most important one being the beginning
date of the Cyprus issue.

Mr. Ozgurgun said that the Cyprus issue must be solved within the UN
parameters and added that we will never give any concessions on Turkeys
Active and effective guarantees over Cyprus.

[07] The Turkish ambassador to London said their target is a new
Republic of Cyprus

Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (06.12.09) reports that
Yigit Alpogan, the ambassador of Turkey to London, told journalist Sami
Ozuslu that the target o the Turkish side is the creation of a new
Republic of Cyprus.

Mr Alpogan said, inter alia, the following: We are hopeful on the issue
of the solution of the Cyprus problem in a short period of time. The
meeting held the day before yesterday by President Mehmet Ali Talat
with Prime Minister Gordon Brown is very important and a step forward.
The fact that this meeting coincides with a period when the
negotiations are being intensified and we expect a result is also very
important.

We want a new Republic of Cyprus. The Turkish Cypriot State, the Greek
Cypriot State and a new federation established by them. A new Republic
of Cyprus. There will be no majority-minority. The hegemony of no one
should exist. The political equality should be secured.

A new balance was created after the EU Council took the decision on the
isolation in Cyprus on 26 April 2004. On the one side there is
isolation and on the other the opening of the ports. Nothing can happen
on the one thing without something happening on the other. The balance
will be spoiled.....

The paper reminds that Mr Alpogan has been the first non-military
General Secretary of Turkeys National Security Council.

(I/Ts.)

[08] Tatar said Turkey will contribute to the budget of the breakaway
regime for 2010 the sum of $ 650 million

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (07.12.09) reports that the
self-styled minister of finance, Ersin Tatar has said that Turkey will
contribute to the budget of the breakaway regime for 2010 the sum of
approximately $ 650 million. In statements to KIBRIS TV, Mr Tatar noted
that this will be the biggest help given to the breakaway regime until
today and thanked the Turkish government. Mr Tatar said that the money
which should have been collected from the administrators of the
bankrupted banks during the period 2000-2001 has not been paid to the
state and added that this amount reaches to around $ 250 million.

(I/Ts.)

[09] Turkish Cypriot daily reports that the UN Secretary-General will
visit Cyprus in February

Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (05.12.09) reports that the UN
Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon will visit Cyprus in February 2010
after the intensified negotiations to be held by the two leaders in
January in order to make the final retouching.

In an article signed by journalist Mete Tumerkan, who cites information
from the backstage in Ankara and Lefkosia, it is noted that the UN
Secretary-General is expected to visit the island after joint
invitation by the two leaders.

Ankara Anatolia news agency (07.12.09) reports from Washington that
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with United Nations
Secretary-General's Special Adviser for Cyprus Alexander Downer as part
of his official visit to the United States.

The closed-door meeting took place at the Willard InterContinental
Washington Hotel.

Following are the summaries of reports and commentaries of selected
items from the Turkish press on 04, 05, 06 December 2009:

a) Obama-Erdogan meeting:

In an article entitled "Iran test at the Oval Office," in Milliyet
(05.12.09) columnist Sami Kohen predicts that Iran's nuclear program
will be the number one issue to be discussed in a meeting between US
President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
in Washington on 7 December. Pointing out that the crisis caused by
Iran's nuclear program may poison Turkish-American relations, Kohen
comments: "The main issue is what Turkey would do if the United States
attempts to push through a resolution to impose sanctions toward the
end of this month. Its intentions will probably be sounded out at the
Oval Office. This will be regarded as a test showing whether Turkey is
acting together with the West about this very critical issue."

In an article entitled "Ahmadinezhad made things difficult for
Erdogan," in Milliyet (05.12.09) columnist Semih Idiz says that Iranian
President Mahmud Ahmadenezhad's defiant attitude about his country's
nuclear program will probably put Erdogan in a difficult position
during his meeting with Obama because Turkey has taken a stance
supportive of Iran's arguments. He also cautions that Turkey may face
international isolation if it elects to vote against a possible UN
resolution aimed to impose new sanctions on Iran.

In an article entitled "Turkish-American relations will not be
derailed," in Milliyet (05.12.09) columnist Hasan Cemal predicts that
the Obama-Erdogan meeting will take place in light of common interests
which, he notes, will help the two sides overcome their differences
over Afghanistan, Iran, and other issues. Pointing out that Turkey is
located at a critical part of the world where the United States is
facing various problems, Cemal comments: "The United States, therefore,
wants to see Turkey with a strong and stable democracy and economy on
its side at this part of the globe."

Commenting on the Obama-Erdogan meeting in his article entitled "Headed
for the United States with Erdogan," in Vakit (06.12.09) columnist
Serdar Arseven says that the Turkey is urging the United States to
ensure that PKK leaders sheltered in northern Iraq are extradited to
Turkey while the US Government has expectations about Turkey's role in
Afghanistan. He says: "Of course the meeting is not expected to yield a
result that could be satisfactory to both sides." Arseven also notes
that the visit will also show whether or not Turkey's new policy aimed
at increasing its influence and capabilities actually works.

In a column in Milliyet (04.12.09), Sami Kohen examines the reasoning
behind President Barack Obama's decision to send additional troops to
Afghanistan.

Arguing that Obama's new strategy aims to use "both hard and soft
power" to counter the Taliban's dominance, Kohen says that Obama wants
to show that this is not his war alone and has therefore asked for
contributions from US allies.

Kohen maintains that there is no likelihood that Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan will accept a possible request from Turkey to send
combat troops to Afghanistan.

Columnist Cengiz Candar pens a column in Hurriyet (04.12.09) on
Erdogan's upcoming visit to Washington, its significance for Turkish-US
relations, and the possible US request for more Turkish combat troops
for Afghanistan. Arguing that this is a "routine" visit because "there
has been a 'structural' change in bilateral relations parallel to the
change in the world and this 'structural' transformation is linked more
to the change in Turkey's 'identity' in international politics," Candar
maintains that US-Turkish relations are beginning to normalize.

Referring to the recent statements of US Ambassador James Jeffrey and
US special envoy Richard Holbrooke regarding US expectations from
Turkey on the subject of Afghanistan, Murat Yetkin comments on Ankara's
position on sending more troops to that country. In his column in
Radikal (04.12.09), Yetkin asserts that both the United States and NATO
have begun to understand that Turkey cannot be seen as a fighting party
in that region.

In an article entitled "Are you greater than Alexander the Great?"
columnist Ibrahim Karagul in Yeni Safak (04.12.09) comments on Barack
Obama's newly disclosed plan on Afghanistan. He asserts that the US
president's strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan is set to make
nonsense of his peace messages to the world and particularly Islamic
countries. He warns that any concessions that Ankara might make on its
resolve not to send combat troops to Afghanistan would dramatically
undermine the effect of recent initiatives by Turkey that have enabled
this country to emerge as a "central" player in the region. He also
asserts that "we do not see the war waged by NATO, the United States,
and Britain on Afghan and Pakistani soil as legitimate and will never
allow Turkey's regional influence to go to waste through involvement in
this dirty war."

b) Turkeys contribution to troop surge in Afghanistan:

A report entitled "Mehmetcik will not pull the trigger" in Milliyet
(05.12.09) says that Turkey plans to send around 50 soldiers who will
make up a team responsible for training military forces and two teams
for training police officers to Afghanistan. According to the report,
Turkey will also train Afghan officers in Turkey.

An article entitled "Are we bar bodyguards?" columnist Melih Asik in
Milliyet (05.12.09) cautions that Erdogan may accept to send a Turkish
combat unit to Afghanistan during his meeting with US President Obama
in spite of official statements to the contrary. He says: "The ruling
party is paying a sufficient price to the United States in return for
remaining in power. That is enough."

In an article entitled "AKP's Afghan dilemma," columnist Ali Sirmen in
Cumhuriyet (05.12.09) argues that sending combat troops to Afghanistan
in order to increase US influence over the region as part of what he
describes as Obama's Pax-Americana would not be in Turkey's best
interests. Asserting that developments witnessed in Iraq showed that
such steps would consolidate US interests while hurting other
countries, Sirmen says: "Would not the United States which is aware
that Erdogan is reluctant to fight against the Taliban grow more
suspicious about the AKP's new foreign policy which it is already
watching anxiously after a negative response about combat troops? How
could Erdogan, caught between the devil and the deep blue see, keep
playing this game by sending combat troops while pretending that he is
not? The AKP seems to be facing a dilemma in its relations with the
United States because of Afghanistan."

In a commentary in Zaman (05.12.09) entitled "The Axis debate and the
Prime Minister's visit to the US", Associate Professor M. Vedat Gurbuz
takes issue with the representation of recent moves by Ankara as a sign
of change in Turkey's orientation from West to East. He argues that
Ankara's latest initiatives mean that the Turkish foreign policy has
assumed a multidirectional quality without losing its traditional
essence. He goes on to assert that Turkey has established a new form of
partnership with the United States under Barack Obama and that the
Obama administration supports the same foreign policy principles as
those espoused by Ankara. He also claims that Erdogan's forthcoming
visit to Washington will prove the strength of Turkey's relations with
the West.

Neither can we manage without the United States, nor can the United
States manage without us, maintains Akif Beki in an article in Radikal
(06.12.09) on the eve of Erdogan's visit. Disagreeing with
anti-American circles that claim that "the American century has ended
with the end of the Cold War," Beki asks whether "the world will become
a better place if the United States collapses." Despite my opposition
to the unilateral and oppressive US foreign policy, there is no power
that is more just, more humane, or more peaceful that can currently
replace the United States, stresses Beki and says that in addition to
its economic and military superiority, the United States continues to
maintain its intellectual superiority. The only way for those who do
not like the US order is to do better, concludes Beki.

In an article entitled "Afghan mujahids are invincible," Vakit
(06.12.09) columnist Ayhan Bilgin says that military authorities in the
United States and other countries should advise US President Obama that
no military power could defeat Afghan insurgents who, he notes, forced
Russian troops to leave the country despite their superior military
capabilities. Describing Afghanistan as an "abyss in Hell for infidels
and a garden in Heaven for mujahids," Bilgin says: "Barack Obama should
not push his luck. The most reasonable thing that he could do is to
withdraw US troops immediately rather than increasing their number and
to let Afghan people to practice their faith and to decide their fate."

c) Cyprus issue:

Drawing attention to Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat's solution
formula based on a bizonal federal Cypriot republic where the Turkish
Cypriots will have equal sovereignty rights, columnist Haluk Sahin in
Radikal (06.12.09) argues that the Greek Cypriots do not want to share
sovereignty rights with the Turks. Turkey which has made many
sacrifices for the sake of Cyprus will accept a solution proposal that
offers less than Talat's formula only on condition that it is given
guarantees about its EU membership and a date, points out Sahin and
adds: "Otherwise it will be giving away Cyprus after so much efforts
and self-sacrifice. No Turkish Government, including the current
government, is so foolish." Noting that presidential elections will be
held in northern Cyprus in April, Sahin says: "It is not clear yet if
Talat who is in favor of a solution will be elected. The EU is imposing
pressure for the opening of the ports to Greek Cypriot ships. Time has
become an important factor."

Commenting on the recent incidents created by PKK supporters in various
parts of the country and the ensuing clashes with the security forces,
in Vatan (04.12.09) columnist Rusen Cakir asserts that the support
accorded by the DTP to these demonstrators "disappointed those who
expected dissociation in the Kurdish political movement." In his
column, Cakir argues that DTP leader Ahmet Turk's statement in support
of the demonstrators "showed once again that the DTP is a party that is
'dragged along' rather than one that takes the initiative in the
Kurdish overture process." According to Cakir, the party is being
dragged along by the young grass roots, which are becoming increasingly
radicalized, as well as by the PKK itself. "It is no longer a secret
that the DTP is under the aegis of the PKK," argues Cakir, adding that
the DTP views itself as a kind of mediator between the state and the
PKK. Cakir says that Ocalan, in turn, is holding the Kurdish political
movement and the entire country hostage, and he has totally sabotaged
the Kurdish overture with his statement of complaint issued on 25
November, in which he described the overture as a "liquidation
process." A return from this point is only possible if Ocalan renounces
his complaints, Cakir states.

In an article entitled "What could happen if the DTP is closed down?"
in Sabah (05.12.09) columnist Mahmut Ovur points out that the
Constitutional Court's ruling about the DTP will decide the faith of
the democratization drive. He also quotes DTP deputy Aysel Tugluk as
cautioning that Kurds would lose their faith in the Government if the
DTP is banned, adding that such a decision would plunge Turkey into
deeper chaos.

In an article entitled "Between 'overture' and 'closure,'" in Radikal
(05.12.09) columnist Cengiz Candar cautions that all positive results
which may come out of the meeting between Obama and Erdogan may be
negated if the Constitutional Court bans the DTP although DTP
leadership do not seem to be concerned about it and, therefore, do not
hesitate to make statements exacerbating ethnic tension. He concludes
by saying that efforts to settle the Kurdish question should continue
irrespective of the Constitutional Court's ruling and the DTP's
negative attitudes.

In an article entitled "Difficult days of the overture," in Radikal
(05.12.09) columnist Murat Yetkin points out that the DTP seemingly
expects to make political gains if it is closed down by the
Constitutional Court while encouraging pro-PKK protests in order to
show to the US Government that the Turkish Government's plan about the
Kurdish issue is facing problems before the Obama-Erdogan meeting.
Yetkin predicts that Erdogan is expected to seek strong US support for
the Turkish Government's efforts to find a political solution to the
Kurdish question.

Three days prior to the hearing that will take up the closure suit, the
DTP is rapidly moving from legitimate grounds to an illegitimate zone,
says Erdal Safak in an article in Sabah (06.12.09). Drawing attention
to the DTP-led demonstrations, Safak argues that "it is almost as if
the DTP members are competing for providing the Constitutional Court
with additional evidence. By "free will" the DTP means that Ocalan
should be accepted as an interlocutor in the "democratic overture" and
it declares that the inmate in Imrali will say the last word in the
overture, asserts Safak and accuses the DTP of undermining "the
greatest and the most important peace, brotherhood, and democracy
project of the history of the republic."

The state cannot accept Ocalan as an interlocutor, because he is not an
elected political leader and he does not represent the majority of the
people in East and Southeast Anatolia, maintains Necati Dogru in an
article in Vatan (06.12.09) and continues: "Neither is Ocalan a Yasser
Arafat, a Gerry Adams, or a Nelson Mandela. He is the leader of an
organization that has been depressing those living in the west of the
country with violence, that has been choking those living in the east
with terrorism, that has been wearing out the country, and that has
been killing soldiers for 25 years. He is only familiar with terrorism.
The PKK produces terrorism. The DTP defends terrorism. All three are in
favor of maintaining the status quo. They do not want change." Given
that they have not initiated the overture process, they cannot end the
process, argues Dogru and underlines that Turkey cannot give up its
indivisible integrity or its secular structure. It is impossible to
establish identity ghettos or to divide the cities in line with
identities, emphasizes Dogru and adds: "Turkey can only become a common
motherland and a 'democratic nation-state of law.' All those living in
the east, the southeast, and the western cities should approach this
fact with good manners."

Responding to the criticism to the effect that "the Kurdish overture
has ended in a fiasco," Cengiz Candar in an article in Radikal
(06.12.09) asserts that the overture has been able to carry the Kurdish
problem that had never been debated in the past to a public debate
field with the aim of convincing the Turks. The reason for the
interruption is the government's impression that the Turks have not
been convinced, argues Candar and adds that the opposition parties are
trying to ensure that the Turks are not convinced. Nonetheless, in
addition to convincing the Turks, it is also necessary to ensure that
the Kurds are satisfied, maintains Candar and, pointing out that the
DTP and the PKK are the sole representatives of the Kurdish side, calls
on the government to take courageous steps and to weaken the ties
between the Kurdish people and the PKK. In the middle run the
government should also include a general amnesty in the goals of the
overture, says Candar and adds that without an amnesty that will
include Qandil, the prisons in Turkey, and the diaspora in Europe, the
Kurds will not be satisfied and the overture will not achieve its
goals. To this end, concludes Candar, the communication channels
between the AKP and the DTP should remain open.